I wish to thank you for convening this important meeting
and to express to you our
deep appreciation for the principled, sincere efforts you have exerted in this process
in your national capacity as well as in your capacity as the President of the
Security Council for this month.

I wish also to express our thanks
to Bosnia
and Herzegovina for their skilled stewardship of the Security Council in
January, particularly during the open debate of the Council on 19th January
and throughout the series of
consultations undertaken regarding
the draft resolution on Israeli settlements
in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, on
which the Council has just taken action.

At this time, I also wish to
express Palestineís deep appreciation and gratitude to Lebanon, the Arab
representative on the Security Council, for the principled efforts
exerted and for their
unwavering support throughout this important exercise.

We wish to thank as well the
Arab Group for their serious consideration of this matter, their
constant coordination, and their strong support, and we express appreciation
for the able leadership of the Chairman of the Arab Group since we began
this exercise in December 2010. In this context, we also extend our
appreciation to the important and sincere efforts exerted by the Arab League
Follow-up Committee and its Chair, Qatar, at all levels in the region,
in Cairo and here in New York.

We must also express our
appreciation and gratitude to the members of the Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Chairs,
Egypt and Tajikistan, for their sincere efforts and for their valuable
support and solidarity with Palestine. In this regard, we convey
our thanks as well to the members of the NAM caucus of the Security Council for
their consideration and support on this most important issue.

Of course, Palestine also
wishes to extend its deep gratitude to all of the countries that
co-sponsored the draft resolution, from all corners of the world -- from
Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Their strong and principled
support was invaluable and illustrated to us once again the importance,
weight, and necessity of the collective effort and position in our work in
the international arena as we strive to uphold international law and
to make peace and justice a reality.

Madame President, when we
determined to come to
the Security Council to address the critical and dangerous issue of
Israelís ongoing illegal settlement campaign throughout the occupied
Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, we came to the Council with a
sensible draft resolution reflecting agreed language and principles.
This represented a responsible and serious attempt on our behalf, along
with the entire international community, to address this issue of the illegal
Israeli settlement activities in order to remove this obstacle from the
path of the peace process.

Our overreaching goal remains
to bring an end to the Israeli colonization and occupation of our land
and its destruction of the two-State solution, and to create
appropriate environment and dynamics for the conduct and ultimate
success of...genuine peace negotiations for the achievement of the
two-State solution for peace in accordance with the relevant Security
Council resolutions,
the Madrid Principles, including the principle of
land for peace, the
Arab Peace Initiative and the
Quartet Road Map.

Unfortunately, however, the
Security Council has failed to uphold its responsibilities to respond to
this crisis in the long search for peace and security in the Middle East
and to legislate the global consensus that exists in demanding that Israel,
the occupying Power, immediately and completely cease all settlement
activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East
Jerusalem.

We reiterate that it is high
time to send a clear and firm message to Israel that it must comply with
international legal obligations, including in accordance with
relevant Security Council resolutions, and cease all of its violations
and its obstruction of the peace process.

Israel, the occupying Power,
should not question the determination of the international community to
bring an end to those violations, including its illegal settlement
campaign, including in occupied East Jerusalem. The proper message that
should have been sent by the Security Council to Israel, the occupying
Power, is that its contempt of international law and international
community will no longer be tolerated.

We fear, however, that the
message sent today may be one that only encourages further Israeli
intransigence and impunity. This must be remedied. Otherwise, we will
face a situation where Israelís illegal, reckless, and expansionist
campaign puts into final jeopardy the prospects for achieving our
collective goal, the goal that will bring peace and security to our
region -- the two-State solution for peace of an independent and
viable State of Palestine living side by side with Israel on the basis
of the 1967 borders.

Madame President, despite the negative outcome
today -- and of course, we appreciate the -- the positive votes of the 14
countries who voted in favor -- we continue to call and will continue to
call on the Security Council to uphold its duties and responsibilities
vis-ŗ-vis the question of Palestine, because we believe in international
law and believe in the central role of the Security Council in maintaining international
peace and security. The Council must undertake this role seriously and
consciously in the Middle East in its ongoing attempts to resolve the
Arab-Israeli conflict, the core of which remains the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict.

The situation on the ground
in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is
intolerable and the status quo is untenable. We must continue to uphold
our duties towards our people and our just cause, and will -- and will thus continue
to consider all of our options at the United Nations in order to address
all of the critical issues we face and to promote the achievement of a
just, lasting, and comprehensive peace settlement. We do this with full
conviction and commitment, and with deepest gratitude and appreciation
to all of the member States of the international community whose support
and solidarity in this long search for peace has been so vital and
unwavering.

The Palestinian people and
their leadership will not forgo their legitimate national aspirations
and will not cease their honorable efforts to achieve a peaceful
resolution of this conflict in all its aspects. This includes, foremost,
bringing a complete end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian
land that began in 1967 and the achievement of the inalienable right of
the Palestinian people to self-determination in their independent State
of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, where they can live as
a dignified and proud -- dignified and proud people, enjoying peace, freedom, democracy,
security, and prosperity in their homeland.